Stethoscopes are useful tools in medical examination, testing, and diagnosis that can assist with the determination of the physical health of a patient as well as to determine the extent of any pathologies. Stethoscopes can be used to examine biological systems, such as the cardiovascular, respiratory, and/or gastrointestinal systems. Stethoscopes are particularly useful for the measurement of heart rates, but can be used for listening to the internal sounds within the body of a subject.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional stethoscope 10 that can be used to measure a heart rate, as well as other internal noises within a patient. The stethoscope 10 has a pair of plastic earpieces 12 attached to a “Y” shaped tubing system 14 having a pair of essentially rigid metal binaurals 16 extending therefrom. In this conventional stethoscope 10, the metal binaurals 16 typically have a flexible opaque acoustic tubing 18 over a bottom shaft 20. Other conventional stethoscopes can include a single earpiece.
The bottom shaft 20 extends from an end 22 of the metal binaurals 16 for approximately 18 inches to a drum assembly or chestpiece 24. The drum assembly 24 includes an internal diaphragm or drum 26 that can expand or contract in responses to internal pressure changes within a patient when the drum assembly 24 is placed in close proximity to the patient. The drum assembly 24 can be referred to as the “bell end” of the stethoscope 10.
The drum assembly 24 further includes a threaded member 28 that extends into the acoustic tubing 18 to connect the drum assembly 24 to the tubing system 14. The acoustic tubing 18 can be used to transmit acoustic sounds through the stethoscope 10 to the metal binaurals 16.
The proper use of a stethoscope, such as the stethoscope 10 shown in FIG. 1, requires substantial clinical experience, and an environment that permits clear hearing. Heart sounds, for example, can sound rather faint through the stethoscope 10. The acoustic tubing 16 can create extraneous noise when the tubes rub against hands, body, or clothing, etc. Additionally, the stethoscope 10 poorly accommodates those with moderate to severe hearing loss, or those who work in noisy environments (e.g., emergency rooms, helicopters, etc.).
In view of the above, improved devices and methods of are needed to reduce inaccuracies that result from, inter alia, extraneous noises when a stethoscope operator measures the breathing rate, heart rate or pulse rate of a patient.